Easel-support.



No. 675,731. Patented June 4, I90! 0. D. HABTWELL.

EASEL SUPPORT.

Application filed Feb. 14, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OSCAR D. I-IARTWELL, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

EASEL-SUPPORT.

SPEGKFIOATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 675,731, dated. June 4, 1901.

Application filed February 14, 1901. Serial No- 47,304. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OSCAR D. HARTWELL, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Easel-Supports, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates toeasel-supports employed in connection with displaycards or signs,such as are ordinarily exhibited in stores and similar places; and my invention has for its object the provision of a device of this character which may be easily flattened for transportation or be properly folded to form a firm structure.

My invention has more particularly for its object the provision of an easel-support made of semirigid material, such as cardboard, and provided with flaps which may be folded in the required manner and which when in operative condition will include a tubular backbrace, and in connection therewith a device or means whereby the tubular section or backbrace may be prevented from unfolding.

My invention comprises, furthermore, afront flap adapted to be bent at an angle relatively to the main portion or web of the support and to which a display-card or similar device may be secured.

My invention has, furthermore, for its object the provision of a device whereby a display card which has been attached to the front flap of the support may be retained in proper position relative to the web, so that in its proper organization the easel-support will constitute a medium which is substantially unitary with such card, and hence not apt to be displaced or broken down when in use.

My invention includes also as one of its features a device whereby the upper end of the tubular back-brace may be rigidly 'connected with the front flap, so thatin addition to the rigidity of the front flap and of the tubular support the latter will be prevented against unfolding or bending at that end, while the fiap previously referred to as being adapted to surround the tubular back-brace is disposed intermediate the brace ends.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a partof this specification and in which similar characters denote similar parts, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a show-card supported by an easel-support made in accordance with my invention and illustrating the left rear side thereof. Fig. 2isasimilar view looking from the right of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on an enlarged scale and taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a View illustrating the blank of which the easel-support is to be formed in flattened or spread-out con dition. Fig. 5 is a view in detail to be hereinafter referred to.

In the drawings, 10 designates a show-card or similar device which is supported in nearly upright position by an easel-support made in accordance with my invention and designated in a general way by S. This easel-support is preferably made of semirigid yet yielding material in sheet form and comprises a web portion ll, a front flap 12, and a back-brace portion 13, the latter consisting of series of sections at b c 01, each one of which may be bent relatively to the preceding section on the dotted lines in Fig. 4. The upper end of the front flap 12 is preferably provided with an extension 14:, which may be bent relatively to the said front flap on the dotted line 15 and the end of which is adapted to enter a slit 16, properly positioned near the upper end of the section 01.

When the blank is to be folded or set up for use, the back-brace sections a b c d are folded to form substantially a square tube, as is more clearly shown in Fig. 3, and in order to prevent said tube from unfolding means are provided whereby said tube may be maintained in proper condition and yet without employing any paste or similar matter, by the use of which a reopening or flattening of the support would be rendered difficult. These means consist in the present instance of a flap 17, comprising the sections 6 f g h, which when the back-brace has been given its tubular form may be folded around said tube and secured in position thereon by inserting the end section it into the slit 18 provided therefor in the tube-section d, in this manner forming a stifi and rigid back-brace, which, however, can be easily flattened out by simply removing the retaining-flap 17 therefrom.

Means are provided whereby the front flap may be substantially retained at right angles with the web portion 11 of the support, these means comprising a flap 19, which is folded relatively to the web portion 11 and the front edge 19 of which is when in flattened condition substantially on line with the fold-line 12 between the front flap 12 and the Web 11. The fold-line 20, on which the flap 10 may be bent outward, forms, preferably, a slightlyacnte angle with the front edge 19, and consequently relatively to the fold-line 12' above mentioned, so that when said flap is folded outward the front edge 19' will tend to crowd the card 10, and therefore the front flap 12,

forward and around the line 12 as an axis.

The flap 19 may be formed with bend-scores and an end tongue, whereby to make a triangular stop by bending the flap, as shown in Fig. 5, and engaging its end tongue through the slit 21 therefor in the web of the easelsupport, from which the flap 19 has been thrown out.

From the foregoing description it will readily be understood that my improved easelsupport really consitutes a collapsible device which may be attached to any display-card and which when properly folded will form a firm support therefor, while, on the other hand, the support as a whole may be easily flattened out when desired in order to facilitate packing for shipment.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An easel-support made of cardboard or the like, and comprising a front flap, and a section separated therefrom by a creased line, and folded to form a tubular back-brace, and having a flap folded around said back-brace.

2. An easel-support made of thin semirigid material and folded to form a tubular backbraceand a front flap having an extension for engaging the tubular brace and for preventing the same from unfolding.

3. An easel-support made of semirigid material and comprising a front flap and a web, folded to form a tubular back-brace, and means for positioning said flap relatively to, and substantially at right angles with the Web of the support.

4:. An easel-support made of suitable material, and folded to form a tubular back-brace, and comprising a web and a front flap, a flap projecting from the web and for positioning the front flap substantially at right angles relatively to the web of the support.

5. An easel-support made of suitable material, and folded to form a tubular back-brace, and comprising, a web and a front flap, and a flap projecting from the web and having its joint-line with the web disposed at an acute angle with the fold-line of the front flap.

6. An easel-support made of cardboard, and comprising a web, a front flap having an extension at its upper end, and a rear flap consisting of a plurality of sections separated by creased lines, and folded to form a tube, and slitted to receive said front-flap extension.

7. An easel-support blank, made of suitable material, and comprising a front flap having an extension at its upper end and a rear flap consisting of a plurality of sections separated by creased lines, and foldable to form atube and slitted to receive said front-flap extensiou, and also a web slit-ted to form a flap foldable around the tube, and organized to be secured against unfolding.

Signed by me at S pringfield, Massachusetts, in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

OSCAR D. IIARTWELL.

' \Vitnesses:

WM. S. BELLows, M. A. CAMPBELL. 

